Current News:
DEC 06: 2nd CD due out
JUN 06: CD in stores and iTunes, Napster, etc
MAR 06: Greg signs national distribution deal with TAG Artist Group in nashville
FEB 06: National promotion campaign launched by Turning Point Media Relations in Nashville
Greg Troyer For New Orleans-based singer/songwriter Greg Troyer, becoming a recording artist was as simple as first getting out of the music industry. The owner of Side One Studios, a successful recording studio and video production facility he operated for more than 13 years, the company served such well-known and diverse artists as Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, 311 and The Neville Brothers, among many others. However, as the money multiplied and the celebrity clientele grew, Greg made a surprising decision years ago. "I did anything that came my way," Greg recalls. "From death metal to rap, many projects that, looking back, I never should have been involved in. I was making a really good living from the business, but I felt like the Lord was saying, 'that's enough.' He told me, 'if you will humble yourself and let Me guide you and lead you in music, playing the music I give you-not for your glory but for Mine-your music will be heard by the nations.'" Obediently Greg stopped booking all but Christian projects in his studio. While it was a decision met with skepticism by many of his colleagues, he felt it was something God was specifically asking him to do. Having recently rekindled his faith after years of drifting from Christ, Greg was now the worship leader at his church, and he ultimately came to realize that he couldn't effectively lead worship on Sunday mornings while working with morally questionable artists on weekdays. "It was a scary time, because cutting out secular clientele put a damaging blow to my financial situation, but I just believed through it," Greg remembers. My Kingdom Fall Indeed, Greg's trust in the Lord was guiding him down a path he least expected. A talented musician in his own right-he played a melody the fist time he held a guitar as a child-Greg's experience as a worship leader led him to begin writing his own songs, deeply personal offerings inspired by his desire to approach God with complete honesty. "These songs were just meant to be private thoughts between me and the Lord," Greg says of his debut, My Kingdom Fall. "I wanted to create the kind of worship songs I could sing honestly, even in the times when I might be crying on the inside." Striving to convey complete authenticity, an entire album's worth of material had unfolded before he knew it. In both the introspective and vertical cuts, forthright lyrics are juxtaposed with many of Greg's musical influences, including, pop, some R&B, and a few of the local flavors that make-up the "gumbo" of the traditional New Orleans sound. Built on a foundation of solid, and often intricate, piano and guitar melodies, My Kingdom Fall features mellow, contemplative arrangements as well as driving pop rhythms that serve to emphasize the importance of the message. Greg's years in the studio afforded him the opportunity to learn a variety of instruments and production techniques, and he skillfully arranged, produced, recorded and mixed the entire album himself. The project's first single, the worshipful, piano-based "You Are," has already touched a nerve with radio listeners around the country, as evidenced by its appearance in the Top 100 songs of the year on Christian Radio and Retail Weekly's (CRW) Inspo 2005 chart. "One day I was reading my Bible and I got to the part where Moses asked God who He was. God responded, 'I am that I am.' I did a word search and found that the statement meant, 'I am and that is enough.' As soon as I agreed to that thought, the song came. It was almost as if I was playing a song I had heard before. It's the only song I have ever written that was literally given to me in that way." True to his goal, Greg deliberately put his heart on the line for every song on My Kingdom Fall. In "Jesus, You're My All," he writes: I'm wanting to mean the words I sing/But only empty praises I bring, while he offers thought-provoking conviction in "New Salvation," a track that tackles the tough issue of accountability. In contrast, the album's second single, "Simple Song," is honesty of a different form-a straightforward expression of praise that defies the need for overly-religious language. Set to a buoyant, piano melody, "Simple Song" is an easily accessible contemporary worship track poised to find its way into churches across the country. The Journey Coming back to the Lord at the height of his professional success was hardly bad timing, as many of Greg's industry friends perceived. Instead, the years he spent honing his skills in the studio were invaluable in bringing his own project to fruition. As a teenager, Greg first stepped-foot in a studio when his high school garage band arranged a session to record some demos. Though it was a small home outfit that met the band's tight budget, Greg was immediately intrigued by the owner's recording equipment. "I saved up some money from my summer job and offered to buy his eight-track recorder," Greg remembers. "Over time, as I bought better things, my recordings got better, and by the end of high school, I had a wall full of gear. My dad finally said, 'Son, you've been doing this for a while, and it's time to get out of the garage.'" With his savings as a down-payment and his dad's help in co-signing the mortgage note, 18-year-old Greg became the owner of a small house that he would eventually turn into a major recording studio. As business boomed, Greg also became a sought-after live recording engineer at events in the New Orleans area, a job that allowed him to work with some of music's biggest names, like Santana and Willie Nelson. Along the way, Greg met his wife, Julie, and the couple began attending church together after realizing they shared a similar faith background. Happy to casually attend a large, impersonal church, Greg was initially opposed when Julie pressed him to visit a tiny congregation in Kenner, Louisiana, that she had recently visited with her mother. "I went against my will," Greg admits. "And I sat in the back of the little church with my arms folded, all prideful." When the music began and a gentleman stood to direct the singing with old-fashioned arm gestures, Greg was convinced this was not the place for him. "I remember saying to myself, 'God really needs to find someone to fix the music at this church,' and instantly a feeling came over me that I will never forget. It was almost as if the fingertip of God had pointed at me and said, 'You're going to be the one.'" Thoroughly convicted, not just to help with the music, but also to renew his own commitment to Christ, Greg joined Julie at New Vision Church, and today the two are integral leaders of a burgeoning congregation that has grown from 20 to nearly 300 members. Greg still serves as worship leader, while Julie is the youth minister, a calling placed on her heart the first time she visited the church. "When we started, none of us really knew how to do anything here, but by trusting in the Lord and trying to do the right thing, God has shown us the way, and we're still learning." Building The Future Humbled that the music and message of My Kingdom Fall has already touched so many of his friends and family members-not to mention the early success at Christian radio-Greg is seeing his ministry platform grow every day in unexpected ways. When New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina last year, Greg heard from numerous people who found hope and comfort in his music amidst the storm's aftermath-yet another affirmation of God's timing and purpose for Greg's ministry. And though Greg and his family survived the disaster with only minor damage to their home, the catastrophe initiated a major reality check in Greg's life. "It was a scary time, because everything in an instant was changed," he remembers. "Do I still have a job? Have I lost all the money I've ever owned in my life? It was a time when we had to have faith just to maintain and hang on." No doubt, having faith and hanging on have certainly been consistent themes in Greg's life since his recommitment to Christ. "Every time God leads me to the next level in my life, He asks me to do something that requires me to have faith," Greg says. Beginning with the courage it took to walk away from a successful studio business, and continuing today with his willingness to share such honesty in his music, Greg is ready to embrace God's next call and learning that faith is a lifelong journey of trust…with a few unexpected twists and turns along the way.